


Tender Hug

by BlackBirdAolen



Category: Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia, 悪魔城ドラキュラ 奪われた刻印 | Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia
Genre: Deeper Feelings, Exhausting Work, F/M, Friendship, Hugging, Worries, tender moment
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-13
Updated: 2017-06-13
Packaged: 2018-11-13 18:57:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 812
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11191326
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BlackBirdAolen/pseuds/BlackBirdAolen
Summary: Shanoa has had a pretty rough day. Thankfully, Albus is there to make her feel better.Got a fanfic idea for me?My deviantART - full of original fiction.Snippets and ramblings on my tumblr.





	Tender Hug

Albus was occupied with cleaning his gun, at least until he heard the door opening. The heavy thud of the door closing made him look up, and he blushed just faintly when Shanoa came in. She looked exhausted, and her hair was a little ruffled at the top, but it would soon smoothen out. The long black locks never stayed ruffled for a long time. And if they were a little more ruffled than usually, he was happy to help with a wooden comb Shanoa had given to him some time ago.

“You look like you razed the entire castle in a single night.” Albus laid his flintlock pistol back and looked at Shanoa with a questioning expression. “What happened?”

“Blackmore came back, for some reason. I spent the entire night chasing him and his goddamned shadows through the castle. Over the course of which I smashed more things to pieces than I would like to admit. Not to forget all the glyphs I absorbed. It was pretty exhausting after a while.”

Albus nodded slowly, then pulled Shanoa into a hug when she came over and sat down in his lap. She was exhausted, but she still needed to eat. In between the runs through the castle, to determine why it still wasn’t falling apart, he found that she kept neglecting herself. Not to a dangerous degree (as of yet), but he still was worried that it could take on new heights. Without much of a forewarning, he lifted Shanoa up in his arms and carried her to the room between theirs, which they shared for small moments between their obligations.

“The village is doing marvelously. It still is difficult to see that they are surrounded by so many dangerous places, but with the wards we set up, it should be nigh impossible for the monsters to break beyond the village’s borders.”

“That’s good to hear.” Shanoa was rather occupied with the apple pie they had received from that same village. She was visibly hungry, and Albus was glad that she didn’t refuse to eat. That had happened before, and it had resulted in a dangerously low blood sugar level for Shanoa in the middle of a castle run. The only thing that had saved her then was a half smushed éclair she had gotten from the village’s cook prior to it.

“There’s also talking that something is moving within the bowels of the reefs again. I think you will have to go down there at some point again, but as for now, I don’t think it is that important. The reefs are pretty out of the way, but we probably shouldn’t neglect it for too long.”

“Agreed.” Shanoa sighed quietly and then brushed a strand of hair out of her face. “I’ve been feeling a lot stronger as of late. There’s a lot of glyph magic running through my body, and it sometimes worries me.”

“How so?” Albus was immediately concerned, because that was a rather odd turn of the conversation in his mind. “Do you feel unwell with it?”

“Not exactly, but it does make me question if there could be a point where it’s too dangerous to further utilize the glyphs.”

Albus nodded slowly, considering Shanoa’s worry. It wasn’t without foundation. The glyphs, after all, were born from the magic of the castle. The chaotic and dark forces were purified through Shanoa’s way of fighting, thus not harming her directly, but there was a distinct possibility that at some point, the purification process would not work out properly, so there was that worry to consider. If it wouldn’t work any longer, the magic would dissipate if Shanoa didn’t absorb it. That was in and of itself not a problem, but Albus would prefer it not to happen.

“For now, let’s focus on the current events. Like the whole business in the reef.”

Only when Shanoa began chuckling into her apple pie did Albus realize that he unintentionally had made a joke. He groaned slightly about it, but was happy that Shanoa could laugh about it. Only after a while did Shanoa calm down, then she got up and again settled in Albus’s lap. She looked tired, and about to fall asleep.

“So you want to stay with me during the day? How charming.” Albus tried to not sound too snarky, but he did feel a little unsure about how he should feel now. Shanoa and him had known each other for such a long time already, so this was a bit awkward for him. They never had professed deep feelings for each other, but it would occasionally slip through that there were tender thoughts on both sides.

“Yes.” Shanoa had only mumbled now, and soon was dozing off in Albus’s lap. With a sigh, Albus lifted Shanoa carefully, to not wake her up. Cuddling in bed it was, then.


End file.
